Airlines call for ‘fundamental’ reform of charges before Heathrow expansion

Airlines using Heathrow Airport are calling for “urgent and fundamental” reform of its charges as they expect passengers to be hit by a further rise in costs to pay for a third runway. The bosses of British Airways’ parent company IAG and Virgin Atlantic urged regulator the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to prevent passengers and airlines being “locked into higher charges for decades to come”. Their plea was also supported by Surinder Arora, who owns a number of hotels serving the west London airport, and Heathrow AOC, which represents airlines using the hub. The group claim record-breaking passenger numbers and the prospect of expansion “mask the fundamental problem with Heathrow”. They wrote: “For too long the regulatory model’s failure to constrain the monopoly has harmed consumers, led to squandered spending and diminished Heathrow’s hub status and competitiveness. With the prospect of expansion, which would be paid for by passengers, it is now time for the regulator to take action. This is why we have come together to submit our joint proposal to the Civil Aviation Authority for an urgent and fundamental review of Heathrow. This collective call is born out of the spiralling costs at the airport, which are being shouldered by customers and airlines alike.”<br/>